Adaptive Brace for Ankle Injury

Adaptive Ankle Brace vs. Taping for Acute Ankle Injury Rehab in Young Subelite Soccer Players

Ankle injuries are common in sports. For example in Basketball the single-season risk of sustaining an ankle sprain was 25.8% (2013-2014 & 2016) Early rehabilitation is believed to reduce the downstream medical costs for ankle-related issues (Krombholz et al 2024).

An adaptive ankle brace was developed to resist sudden, high-velocity inversion while allowing normal ankle motion at typical speeds, offering protection similar to traditional passive braces. A new study investigated the effect in subelite soccer players during return to sports procedures (Krombholz et al 2024)

Methods: – n=13 soccer players with acute lateral ankle sprains – Provided adaptive ankle brace or conventional taping – Identical clinical procedures, supervised by the same staff – Time to return to sport tracked – Player feedback on brace collected via surveys (Krombholz et al 2024)

Results: – The adaptive ankle brace offers similar rehabilitation benefits as conventional taping or bracing. BUT provides greater breathability, comfort, and freedom of motion compared to conventional braces. (However, more studies in larger cohorts are needed!) (Krombholz et al 2024)

Full Study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39084618/